Introduction
As ‘The World and Me’ brings ideas, people and places together, we encourage a spirit of critical thinking from our viewers. We are embarking on a journey to see how Christianity engages with the real lived experiences and stories that occur daily throughout our world. However, we want you to think through these ideas and stories critically for yourself as you explore your own identity and what brings you hope, meaning and purpose. Critical thinking means that we can listen to, analyse and evaluate the opinions of others.
1. Outcomes of critical thinking
Objective thinking and character formation.
Critical thinking isn’t just an academic quality; it is also an important element of what it means to develop our character. When we are prepared to listen to the viewpoints of others, we can strengthen our relationships by valuing what other people have to say. We are demonstrating humility that our friends, families, colleagues and people from different contexts (maybe even our enemies?) can provide perspectives that can help us to view things more accurately. For those who find themselves in leadership positions, you will gain more respect from those working in your organisation when your decisions take account of what others have to say. There will be other kinds of skills that your colleagues have to help shape the decisions that you make. You will gain trust when people see that you are prepared to consider different points of view before making your final decisions.
Stella Cottrell outlines in her, ‘Critical Thinking Skills’ book, that the kind of person who thinks critically is persistent, honest and open minded. They are prepared to observe, see and hear and care about the process of their decisions and not just on attaining desired outcomes. Quality thinking means that we don’t just think ‘more’, it’s about having helpful people around us encouraging us to think wisely, enabling us to make better informed decisions.
2. Methodologies for critical thinking
In this section, we will consider four Greek words that can help equip us with critical thinking skills:
Ethos
Ethos is a Greek word that means ‘habit’ or ‘character’ and emphasises that when we are thinking through the quality of an idea, we should be aware of a source’s specialism. Developing a specialism could be through having studied a course or completing education in an area that has provided expertise. However, this is not the only kind of credible source that we can engage with. Others may be able to provide informed opinions because of their lived experience. By encountering things on the ground, they may have examples or stories that can help us think through ideas when they are applied to specific situations. If we disagree with their opinions, that may be because of other information or examples we are aware of. However, we should seek to respond with quality thinking rather than resorting to heated arguments because we feel threatened by what someone else is saying. Of course, we all bring our bias and presuppositions to any meaningful question. We should be aware of those influences as well as our own motivations and try to think around how other people’s perspectives relate to what our own previous experiences are.
Logos
Logos is a Greek word meaning to reason or to speak and it is where the word ‘logic’ derives from. It’s an important word when we are considering critical thinking. Thinking logically enables us to see whether an opinion or argument appears to be valid when considered alongside other points of view or applied examples. To many the field of Philosophy seems to be pointless with the never-ending positing of questions or the exploring of new arguments and ideas. However, it is a useful field in training people to see when an argument works consistently and when it is obvious that that the argument has defeaters questioning its validity. Amongst this consideration, some helpful questions to ask when thinking through an argument are, ‘Can I think of counter arguments that bring an objection to this position?’ ‘What is the central point that this person is arguing?’ ‘Do their examples back up their position?’ In addition, also be aware of the smokescreens in the debate. A smokescreen means that a valid point has been raised, but instead of engaging with it, a person distracts from this valid point by taking the conversation in another direction without addressing the concern.
Pathos
Pathos is a Greek word that relates to the experiences and emotions that we have. Aristotle in his work, ‘Rhetoric’, talks about ’emotional appeal’ being an important element of developing an argument. Often emotion over-rides logic, so it is important to relate to people in a manner in which they care about your perspective. This often happens through story telling! When people come to engage with characters in a storyline or plot that draws them in, they are more likely to become persuaded. This is something that C.S. Lewis did so effectively. When C.S. Lewis wrote the Chronicles of Narnia, he employed multiple analogies and metaphors for his Christian beliefs through the characters in his stories. By drawing us into the lives of Reepicheap the courageous mouse, or Eustace the complaining cousin who becomes transformed, or the beavers waiting for the promises and prophecies within Narnia to be fulfilled, to Aslan who dies for the wrongdoing of another in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, we are thinking through the Christian worldview through the emotions of stories. Critical thinking in this way has a creative element enabling reflection, story and worldview to be weaved together. Of course, when we are reading or watching any story, we should be aware of how our emotions are drawn into the narrative. When we become aware of pathos as a means of persuasion, we can then think through more clearly, are the ideas I am being confronted with worthy of this persuasion or is what is logical being ignored because of my emotional response to the content.
Kairos
Of course, the time comes when we have analysed and evaluated the ideas, and we have come to making a decision. At this point we are ready for Kairos, which is another Greek word that means that we are in the right or critical moment for deciding. This is also an important word relating to wise leadership, as to when we bring people with us in a moment of change. We may sense that after a period of discussion or after an on-going period of indecision that clarity has come for how to move forward, the Kairos moment. Again, this requires discernment, that we have led people at the right speed along the way and that we have created space for working things through. Knowing when to act or when to bring a moment of change is as important as what the decision or change is. If we are wise as to how we lead people and act sensitively towards them, then we are able to make sure that we utilise moments of opportunity.
Finally…
Clarifying tolerance
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, tolerance includes ‘being willing to accept or tolerate someone or something, especially opinions or behaviour that you may not agree with.’ Unfortunately, tolerance is commonly misunderstood to mean that we have to agree with other people’s ideas. If we don’t, we are perceived to be intolerant or ‘against them’. The consequence of this misunderstanding is that many people no longer feel safe to express their viewpoints. Many young people are experiencing in university classes and in schools that they can no longer have discussions and debates that they can seriously engage with in a safe space. It is important that our places of education provide safe spaces for young people to think through their ideas without fear of being cancelled for what those viewpoints are. As we provide content and resources, we want you to feel that you can question and think through those ideas for yourself.
When not to think
As stated, the journey of The World and Me and the exploration of our questions does have a Christian ethos. Jesus demonstrated in the New Testament that asking questions is a positive part of what it means to search for truth! He often wanted people to think through the ideas for themselves so that they would willingly want to have a relationship with Him.
When we come to a deeper position of trust with God, we can also enjoy moments where we give up control of a decision or the attempt to know every outcome. Sometimes to fully surrender to the will of God we choose not to rationalise everything. Abraham in the Old Testament was told to leave his land without being told exactly where he was going. In this instance, if he had applied every methodology of critical thinking he may have missed out on all the promises that God had for Him. The Christian is called to the balance of a life full of thought and reflection but times of trust as well, when we can hand over our decisions to the one who created us.
Of course, whether we should believe in and trust God is a part of the journey in discovering who we are as human beings and where our hope, meaning and purpose should derive from.
Check out ‘The Series’ question as that journey unfolds.
Sources:
- Stella Cottrell, ‘Critical Thinking Skills’.
- Tom Chatfield, ‘Critical Thinking’.
- Joseph Laconte, ‘A hobbit, a wardrobe and a great war’.
- Blooms Taxonomy.
- James K.A Smith, ‘You are what you love’.